Machine Learning for Rapid Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting Tissue Property Quantification

Magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based method that can provide quantitative maps of multiple tissue properties simultaneously from a single rapid acquisition. Tissue property maps are generated by matching the complex signal evolutions collected at the scanner to a dictionary of signals derived using the Bloch equation simulations. However, in some circumstances, the process of dictionary generation and signal matching can be time-consuming, reducing the utility of this technique. Recently, several groups have proposed using machine learning to accelerate the extraction of quantitative maps from the MRF data. This article will provide an overview of current research that combines MRF and machine learning, as well as present original research demonstrating how machine learning can speed up dictionary generation for cardiac MRF (cMRF).